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Oncology nurses play a vital role in cancer care. They form strong relationships with patients and provide them education and support, while serving as an advocate. As we make strides in our mission to create a cancer-free frontier, we recognize the importance of investing in the success of our nurses. We want to provide them with a strong clinical foundation and constant support. We believe it is important to equip them with the best resources.

It is an exciting time for nurses to join Huntsman Cancer Institute! Our Huntsman Oncology Nurse Residency (HONR) program and University of Utah (U of U) Health are creating an onboarding experience for new graduates and experienced nurses entering acute care and critical care. This partnership has brought two programs to life—Transition to Practice and Nurse Residency.

Transition to Practice

Our Transition to Practice (TTP) program will be provided to all registered nurses (RNs) hired for our acute care and rehab units. This seven-week program will introduce U of U Health’s valued standards of care.

In the four-hour weekly sessions, nurses will practice important skills and learn about safe practices and protocols. Training topics include emergency management, IV skills, medication safety, safe patient handling, resource utilization, emotional resilience, and more.

This program will provide a safe space for newly hired RNs to practice skills, ask questions, and learn about our culture of care at U of U Health.

Nurse Residency

Our Nurse Residency program is a year-long educational experience designed for new graduate RNs. This program includes a seven-week TTP program, followed by monthly residency sessions for the remainder of the year.

In these sessions, nurses will receive education on patient safety, time management, responding to patient emergencies, neurological, cardiac and respiratory assessment and interventions, professional development, evidence-based practice, and additional emotional resiliency training. Participants will have the opportunity to interact with their peers from other specialties and learn from clinical experts.

This program features specialty-specific education, so nurses receive a curriculum tailored to the patients they work with. This specialized curriculum includes an oncology-specific didactic, such as cancer treatment modalities, oncologic specialties, oncologic emergencies, and symptom management.

There is no formal application process for either program. Every nurse hired by Huntsman Cancer Institute is automatically enrolled into TTP. New graduate nurses will be automatically enrolled into nurse residency. Depending on the hiring date, they will enter into the next available cohort group. These programs will involve nurses across the entire system, offering a wealth of support from a variety of resources.

By offering these programs, we hope to empower our nurses to develop their clinical and critical thinking skills, knowledge, and relationships to grow a successful and rewarding career in cancer care at Huntsman Cancer Institute.

For more information about the nurse residency experience at Huntsman Cancer Institute, please contact ashley.burke@hci.utah.edu.